Unlike most portable Mario sports titles, there's no roleplaying mode in Mario Tennis Open. Nintendo Power asked Hiroyuki Takahashi, one half of Camelot's boss brothers, about the omission.
Takahashi explained that this time around, Camelot was trying to create a console-quality experience with features like online play and download matches, but one of the big reasons behind omitting the RPG mode was the inclusion of Mii characters:
Another reason is that the game's cast includes Mii characters in addition to characters from the Mario family, which are difficult to work into an [RPG] scenario. It didn't feel right to have already-existent Mii characters appear in an original storyline. But there are RPG-like elements in the form of costumes. I hope people will enjoy collecting the various costumes to customise their own characters and expand their abilities.
Having created the Shining Force and Golden Sun series, we're sure Camelot could have made Miis work in a Mario story, but we won't get to see that this time.
We recently played the game at PAX East and think it's a bit good. Here's our First Impressions: Mario Tennis Open to tide you over until the game's release in late May.
[source gonintendo.com]
Comments 43
They could have but it would have taken a lot of time to make sure your unique Mii(s) would be able to function properly in the RPG mode. .-. {As far as I can interpret anyway.}
I'm not keen on RPG modes in sports games and much prefer the Mario Tennis console games anyway, so this is fine by me.
that's nice Camelot, now get on with making Golden Sun 4 >: (
The character you played in the GBA version also functioned simply as an avatar without much backstory. So, where is the problem in including Miis ? They had one "Country" with real humans and later traveled to the mushroom kingdom to meet up with the mario characters. It worked pretty well. i dont get it. But as far as the gameplay is still there, its fine.
Can't teach a Wii Sports pro new tricks, huh?
"the game's cast includes Mii characters in addition to characters from the Mario family, which are difficult to work into an [RPG] scenario"
I honestly couldn't care less, but this comment is a little funny given the awesome addiction known as Find Mii / StreetPass Quest.
Sorry Camelot, that's an excuse for you being lazy, and I am only going to pay $20 for this game whenever I do buy it.
i don't even know what rpg mode is(since i never played the previous games),but not including an additional mode just because of "mii" characters? another reason why i hate pointless avatars -.-'
I have one word to say to the developers LAZY. I'm pretty sure they could have included rpg mode if they took the time to include it. I wasn't too enthused about this game, and I still am not.
The more imporatant question is 'When is Camelot going to get cracking on making a new Mario Golf for 3DS?"
who care about RPG elements i wanna dress up my mii lol
The last Mario Tennis game I played was the one on game boy color, and the RPG mode was as addictive as crack. Shame this one won't have it.
YES!
Also I had no idea so many of you were addicted to crack cocaine.
As long as the gameplay is fun and the online works well, I'm happy.
Any word of them releasing the GBA Mario Tennis in conjunction with this launch? That would be AWESOME!
Many of Nintendo's newer games (especially Mario) just look like mods of previous ones rather than new. This is clearly PT with different mini-games and online thrown in.
what to say.... i wont buy it now.
maybe used or a greatest hit version if it ever becomes one. not gonna put more than 20$.
im sure its fun and good, but it doesnt appeal me that much and probably will do the same as the gamecube game. i will play a week-end then im off with it.
Your costume has leveled up
Yeah, they modified the RPG elements instead of taking them out completely. If I actually gave a damn about tennis, I'm sure I wouldn't be too upset by the change.
As @onlyaman says, this comment is kind of odd in light of the popularity of Streetpass Quest.
@Einherjar exactly. Its not like the characters in the GBA versions had any sort of background. They were nobodies and everyday run of the mill kids. So not being able to include the same thing with Miis is a bit ridiculous.
Well, being like Mario Tennis 64 or Mario Tennis GC means I'm not buying. The GBA and GB versions were the ones that felt similar to playing tennis, the console ones were annoying to the point of being the worst nintendo (developed by) games I've played
That tagline is perfect. It almost makes up for the loss of the RPG. Almost.
Yeah, because choosing 10 random miis to act as pre-made characters in a story is VERY HARD.
Why would they have used Mii´s in RPG anyway? They look stupid. They could have used the same style for characters they used in previous games.
This doesn't even make any sense. In the previous Game Boy title you were either a boy or a girl. Could've used the same logic, but had people use their Miis... really doesn't compute.
Not a big loss in my opinion, the RPG modes were fun but I never played those nearly as much as the console Mario Tennis games. Now THOSE were awesome. And IF there would be another Mario Tennis RPG, I would want to play as a Mario character, because it's a Mario game, not a generic human and having the game filled with other generic humans.
Although I didn't care for it in the first place, BAD excuse for leaving it out. I could come up with ten different ways how it could work with mii's in the game, blaming mii's is just the laziest excuse you could give in this regard.
I'll admit it does seem a bit lazy on their part, but I simply don't give a darn. The only MT game I played was the 64 one, and I enjoyed that one just fine. True, I won't be picking this up on launch, but that's only because I don't have the money to (although I might pick it up later).
It's a shame there won't be an RPG mode, as I've always considered the handheld games to be vastly superior to the console games. Besides, you played as humans in the RPGs as well, so Miis would be PERFECT for an RPG.
I might get this eventually, but only after a price-drop or something. An RPG mode would have made this a day-one purchase.
No no, their real excuse is they are already working on the next RPG. Am I right?
cough GOLDEN SUN cough
Leaving out the RPG element isn't really a huge disapointment for me. I'm still going to get this game and probably love it. But like many of you, I'll be looking for a sale or deal on it rather than paying full price.
You know, they could just omit the option for Miis for the RPG. Not a big deal... However, I see this as an excuse.
The original GBC and GBA had a generic character with your name and he/she even didn't talk. I don't see any difference between having a generic character and your own Mii, specially if you can dress him/her as you want.
So, yes. This is an excuse.
I am disappointed by this news. I was considering picking this game up but now I'm not so sure. I will probably just wait until it drops in price unless it gets extremely good reviews.
Never played the GBC and GBA tennis games, so this is not a big loss for me. The only Mario Tennis game I have played before this was Power Tennis on Gamecube. Plus I am not a big RPG guy.
Of course it is a bad excuse, like when Miyamoto was asked why Princess Peach could not be a playable character in New SMB Wii, with Brawl having solved that "issue" more than a year before.
I never played the old ones, so I do not know what I could be missing.
@Shotgunryugan In Mario Tennis for the GBC(Gameboy Color), there was a story mode, that started you off by picking a boy/girl as your character, & you getting to name that character, & their doubles partner(, who would be a boy, if you chose the boy, & girl if you chose the girl). As you played your way, through the story mode, you would unlock courses/characters/etc. in the rest of the game, as well as in the story mode itself.
The GBC Mario Tennis was not stand-alone. At the time the game came out, the N64(Nintendo 64) was Nintendo's (then-current) console. There were some games for the N64, & GBC that could communicate utilizing an N64 peripheral called the Transfer pak, allowing N64, & GBC games to exchange data between, & to the games.
After you had started a character on the GBC Mario Tennis, you could use the Transfer Pak to send a copy of him/her to the N64 Mario Tennis. Once you had a custom character on the N64 Mario Tennis, you could play as him/her, the same as any other character in the N64 Mario Tennis, earning what's known as exp points. You could then send these points back to the GBC Mario Tennis, enhancing your character as you chose. Since you chose how to strengthen your character, the story mode/character creation mode has always been called nicknamed an rpg mode.
In the case of this pair of Mario Tennis games, N64, & GBC respectively, you could unlock courts/characters, & other things between the pair of games.
Also, while I'm on the subject, the Gamecube Mario Power Tennis did not have connectivity to the Gameboy Advance Mario Tennis Power Tour.
I don't care about the RPG part. I just like playing tennis with Mario characters. That is what I am looking forward to.
Curse you, Miis!
That's a lousy excuse if I've ever heard one. But I'm not planning on buying it anyways.
The Mii's probably would have had a terrible, cheesy story line that would have players groaning and wondering why Nintendo would ever do that.
I think this was a good call.
I'm not even gonna buy this game ... so, I don't really give fudge! XD
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